Sydney’s largest cocaine gang has been busted following massive raids, with the group reportedly selling a staggering $1.8 billion worth of cocaine in just four months.
Early Wednesday morning, police arrested six men believed to be part of a large criminal network called ‘The Commission’.
The men are said to form the backbone of the drug cartel and control the price and distribution of cocaine in Sydney.
The police operation began in July when a 21-year-old man from Guilford, in Sydney’s west, was found with a kilo of cocaine and a further 12 kilos in a nearby car.
He was charged with two counts of supplying large commercial quantities of prohibited drugs, knowingly dealing in proceeds of crime and participating in criminal activity.
The street value of the drugs was more than $20 million.
The arrest put detectives on the trail of a group believed to be involved in the large-scale supply of cocaine in the New South Wales capital.
New South Wales police, along with detectives from the Crime Commission and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, have established Strikeforce Barograph to investigate the syndicate’s alleged large-scale cocaine supply.
The syndicate is believed to have supplied more than 1.2 tonnes of cocaine to NSW between February and July this year, with an estimated street value of more than $1.8 billion.
Strike Force detectives executed 20 search warrants at homes across Sydney at around 6am on Wednesday.
Sydney’s largest cocaine gang has been busted following massive raids after the group allegedly sold a staggering $1.8 billion worth of cocaine in just four months
The men are said to form the backbone of the drug cartel known as ‘The Commission’ and control the price and distribution of cocaine in Sydney.
Jibreel Bakir, 25, and his brother Laith Bakir, 26, along with Duy Nguyen, 34, Akrom Hamzy, 27, Houssam Khoder-Agha, 27, and Khalid Mohamed, 33, were arrested.
The six men were all charged with various offences related to their alleged roles in the Commission.
During the search, police found and seized 20 kilos of cocaine. The cocaine was found in a bag that had been thrown over a fence. Also seized were ten cars, $800,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, four firearms, two bulletproof vests and multiple electronic devices.
The cars were taken to Bass Hill police station, where officers reportedly found more than 12kg of cocaine stored in hidden compartments in the vehicles known as ‘hides’.
The total street value of the cocaine seized is over $55 million.
“Police today uprooted one of the most dangerous and destructive groups Sydney has ever seen,” said New South Wales Police Chief Karen Webb.
“I am confident that today’s arrests will make the community safer and this dangerous drug harder to find.”
Police will tell the court the group supplied more than $1.8 billion worth of cocaine into Sydney in four months and deliberately controlled the supply to increase their profits.
It is further alleged that the group used a sophisticated system of hidden compartments in their vehicles to transport and conceal the cocaine.
The combined street value of the cocaine recovered during the searches is more than $55 million.
Six men, aged between 25 and 34, were arrested and charged with numerous offences related to their alleged role in the gang
During the searches, police also seized ten cars, $800,000 in cash, a Rolex watch (pictured), four firearms, two bulletproof vests and multiple electronic devices
According to Peter Faux, chief inspector of the organised crime department, the organised crime underworld will suffer the consequences of the arrests.
“We have just taken down the group that allegedly played the role of government, bank and economy for the Sydney underworld,” Det Supt Faux said.
“These arrests will leave many criminals unemployed as the massive drug supply they use to finance their crimes dries up.”
Det Sup Faux also warned other criminal gangs not to use the loot from the arrests.
“To the criminal gangs who plan to fill the gap left by yesterday’s arrests, we are waiting for you,” said Det Supt Faux.
‘[We] are fully prepared to prosecute you for any crimes you commit that pose a danger to the people of NSW.’